CWLA Professional Women’s Conference 2016 did not disappoint
By Vivienne Wilson
The Canterbury Women’s Legal Association hosted a very successful Professional Women’s Conference in Christchurch on 30 August 2016. The Conference was sponsored by Buddle Findlay, Simpson Grierson, Craig’s Investment Partners, Anthony Harper, Duncan Cotterill, Chapman Tripp, Baldwins Intellectual Property, Harmans and Anderson Lloyd. A big thank you to those organisations for their support this year.
The Honourable Lianne Dalziel, Mayor of Christchurch opened the Conference drawing on the theme from our key note speaker Lucy Cornell – “A woman’s voice means business”. The Mayor reminded us of those pertinent words from Coco Chanel “the most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud”, and with that the Conference got off to a wonderful start.
Next up was Lucy Cornell who prepared delegates for her workshop session later in the afternoon. Lucy Cornell founded Voice Coach in 2003 in Australia and has been working with professionals ever since. She reminded delegates that your voice is your birth-right and you use it to get what you want from the day you are born. Over the ensuing months and years, a person’s voice becomes civilised and withdrawn. The key is to find your enabled voice, and know that you have the right to use your enabled voice.
At her workshop session, Lucy Cornell took delegates through the first steps of sounding assertive, establishing vocal presence, and getting yourself heard in the moment. ABVS is the key. Arrive, Breathe, Vibrate, and Speak. Delegates had the chance to practice “arriving” and the breathing technique. Lucy reminded us that the world is lead by people who turn up, so we need to use our voices to turn up and have impact.
Dame Silvia Cartwright spoke on a very important topic, “The Economic Cost of Domestic Violence”. Dame Silvia referred to the history of domestic violence in New Zealand, and attitudes over the years. For example, in the 1970s, the Police showed a willingness to arrest perpetrators of violence but not necessarily of domestic violence. She considers that there has been and is a long held belief that domestic violence is a private issue. Dame Silvia also outlined the various costs to individuals and society from domestic violence. The costs include loss of income, loss of potential, and loss of opportunities. The estimated cost to the New Zealand government each year of domestic violence is $1.4billion which is staggering. Simply put, the costs of violence against women are enormous and the whole of society pays.
The next speaker was Joanna Perry. Joanna Perry has a distinguished career in corporate governance, and she took delegates through her personal journey. She spoke about what it takes to be a good director now and in the future. Some of the key qualities are self-awareness, independence, integrity, fairness, justice and caring. In particular, self-awareness and understanding yourself are key. This leads you to know where you can add the most as a director and where you can best make a difference. Joanna Perry concluded her presentation discussing unconscious bias of broad members and what we can do to address it. In her view, diversity on a board can counter unconscious bias. As she pointed out, the diversity journey is not yet complete.
One of the highlights of the Conference was the presentation by Hon. Amy Adams on “Tips from the Top”. Minister Adams provided us with some thoughtful insights on what it has been like for her throughout her career and her rise in Parliament. Key points were:
· As women we can err on the side of “likeability” but this can come at the cost of getting things done.
· If it gets hard, work harder. (Reference was made to Sir Peter Blake saying “If it’s not hard, it’s not worth doing”)
· If you can’t communicate, you will be held back. Convey what you want to convey and speak from the heart.
The final presenter was Claire Turnbull. Claire is a UK trained dietician and personal fitness instructor, and established Mission Nutrition. She is the Healthy Food Guide Nutritionist. Claire spoke to “Making Healthy Happen and Boosting Your Energy Levels”. It was a great way to end the Conference knowing that there are five easy steps that we can all take to being healthier. Put simply these are:
· Be aware that knowledge is not enough - there is no magic diet
· Forward plan – this removes the need to rely on willpower to make the healthy choices
· Make fitness happen when life is busy – eg find the stairs or do a few star jumps in the office!
· Have time out and some fun
· Address your eating habits – put vegetables at the front of the fridge and the chippies at the back of the pantry - out of sight.
Thank you to Kathryn Beck who was the MC for the Conference. She kept it running very smoothly throughout the afternoon and provided very insightful links between the speakers. Thank you also to our goody-bag sponsors, and Thomson Reuters and Yazu Hair Lounge for sponsoring the Speakers’ Gifts.